Girl’s Basketball: Junior Chemics come back in thriller

by Cory Butzin

When the game was on the line in the waning seconds Monday, the Chemics’ smallest player came up big.

After blowing an early lead, the Midland High junior varsity girl’s basketball team saw itself within moments of defeat until Katy Porterfield hit a shot with three seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, and Chelsea Dull hit a shot with two seconds left in the extra period to help the Chemics come back for a thrilling 51-50 win over Cadillac at Midland High School.

Though Dull’s shot proved to be the game winner, it was Porterfield’s poise late in the game that helped Midland get to overtime in the first place

“She is a tough kid,” said Midland coach Larry Kastl. “When I called a timeout on that last play, I wanted her attacking the basket. She never backs down. She just keeps going all the time.”

In the first quarter, it seemed like the Chemics were prepared to run the Vikings right out of the gym. Everything seemed to go right for Midland as their shots seemed to fall while Cadillac couldn’t hold onto the ball. The Chemics led 16-6 going into the second.

Midland seemed to cool down offensively in the second, but their defense remained solid allowing them to take a 22-13 lead into the half.

“In the first quarter everything was clicking,” Kastl said. “But when everything’s clicking you’re just waiting for that other shoe to drop.”

It dropped in the second half. A seemingly revitalized Viking team opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run to cut the Chemics’ lead to four. Cadillac played an aggressive attacking defense that saw Midland get into the bonus with over four minutes remaining in the quarter. It also saw the Vikings cut their deficit to 31-28 going into the fourth.

Cadillac kept threatening to overtake the Chemics and it seemed like Midland was going to hold off the Vikings surge, but with ninety seconds remaining a Cadillac 3-pointer brought the Vikings within two. A Kat Hutchinson jumper tied the game at 40-40 with a minute left, and a Hailee Bundy hit a shot with forty second remaining gave Cadillac its first lead of the game.

But in the waning moments, the Chemics took a timeout to set up its final play. Porterfield took the inbounds pass, drove through the Viking defense, and laid it in to tie the score at 42-42 and send the game to overtime.

In the extra quarter Cadillac seemed to have the upper hand, but Midland refused to back down. Every time the Vikings scored the Chemics responded, and with over a minute and a half remaining Porterfield showed up again by hitting a free throw to give Midland a 47-46 lead. Cadillac responded 30 seconds later with a free throw of their own to tie the score, but Porterfield answered with 36 seconds remaining to give the Chemics a 49-47 lead.

The Vikings weren’t done, though, as they ran down the court to set up their offense. With 18 seconds left, Stephanie Adams hit a 3-pointer to give Cadillac the 50-49 lead.

But Midland wasn’t done, either. After a timeout, Alex Kerlin got the ball on the wing and drove to the basket, where she found a wide open Chelsea Dull with two seconds left for two points and the win.

“This one time it worked like it was supposed to,” Kastl said. “The girls really deserve it. They’ve taken their lumps, and this one time all the hard work and effort paid off.”

The Chemics were led by Dull who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Rachel Sugnet had 12 points and four rebounds. Porterfield finished with nine points and seven assists.

Midland returns to action Thursday when they travel to Saginaw High to take on the Trojans. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.